James Lasdun's Stalker, David Sedaris Film, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
1.22.13

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:

Author James Lasdun details how it feels to be stalked and attacked online by a former MFA student. (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Meanwhile, the New York Times examines how Amazon book reviews are used as "attack weapons."

Richard Blanco's "One Today" was not the only poem written for president Obama's inauguration yesterday—Yahoo! News commissioned poems from James Tate, Paul Muldoon, and others.

Ms. magazine lists its favorite books of poetry by women released in 2012, including Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton, and Lyn Hejinian’s The Book of a Thousand Eyes.

Electric Literature asked several book lovers and writers what they're excited to read in 2013.

Notorious for declining Hollywood interest, David Sedaris explains why he allowed Kyle Patrick Alvarez to make a film adaptation of “C.O.G.," an essay that was published in his 1997 book Naked. (Los Angeles Times)

This past Saturday marked Edgar Allan Poe's two hundred and fourth birthday. On its blog, the publisher Tor writes: "But while the invention of Horror and Detective fiction remain the tent-poles of Poe’s reputation, the man’s intellectual scope as a writer stretched far beyond the macabre."

And on author Dani Shapiro's blog, she discusses the importance of taking risks.

Random House created a Facebook app—BookScout. (Shelf Awareness)